Plex has announced a new Apple TV app and made it available for preview.

Plex, a popular media server and streaming app, is holding several announcements today. The service is adding new discovery features and community functions to all users, as well as improving the video streaming quality for Plex Pass users.

For Apple users, the most notable aspect is that Plex is expanding previews of its entire new Plex experience to Apple TV.

Plex summarized its announcements in today's blog post. The company states that one of its focuses for 2025 is improving discovery and community among users. As a result, Plex users will be able to write reviews they want to show other users. They can also comment on reviews posted by other Plex users.

To us, discovery is not just about finding something to watch but also about finding friends or fans with the same interests. That's why you can now access your Plex profile at watch.plex.tv and anyone can see it! By default, users can find each other using the app's search function (unless you have changed this setting). By publishing your profile on watch.plex.tv, you can easily share a link with friends to check what they are watching or what is in their watchlist!

Of course, privacy is also considered. Plex states that "by default, all Plex users can find each other using the app to search." However, the company has not changed your privacy settings. If you previously declined this action, it will not be automatically granted again.

A new option called "Share Ratings and Reviews" can be found in the Plex app's settings menu. You can select from five options:

• Everyone
• Plex users who are signed into the app
• Friends of friends
• Only friends
• Private

New Apple TV App Preview

In November, Plex announced a dramatic redesign of its iPhone app and released a preview version through TestFlight. Now, the company is expanding this preview experience to Apple TV users.

The focus of the new Plex design is the revamped navigation system. There are also significant visual changes that allow for larger artwork and a more intimate experience.

In addition to aesthetic changes and new features, Plex is also praising a major internal rework. The app has been rebuilt from scratch and integrated across multiple platforms with a single codebase. This will enable faster updates and the development of new features in the future.

To try out the new app, visit the Plex forum and sign up for beta testing. The Plex website also has a page about missing features in the new app, including cast functionality, selectable download and offline functions. Plex emphasizes that "the new app is not yet perfect but wants to quickly obtain feedback from the community."

You can learn more about the new Plex experience in an original article from November.

Finally, Plex Pass subscribers have access to hardware encoding for HEVC. Plex claims this allows them to provide higher-quality video at the same bandwidth.

HEVC encoding provides better visual quality at the same bit rate and makes it possible to stream high-quality video from the Plex Media Server with the same (or lower!) bandwidth. Additionally, this encoding has a feature that preserves HDR metadata, meaning tonemapping is no longer necessary!

Please review Plex's blog post for more details on today's announcements.